PalQ

Just read a bit about Ryan Air marketing tactics and why they at times offer free tickets!
It seems that even if they give away a ticket free that they claim to sell enough stuff onboard, like iPods, drinks, food, etc. that they figure they make more giving this seat away free than leaving it empty.
But if they can sell the seat even better but the reason you rarely see RyanAir flights that are not full is i guess because they give away any empty seats.
Of course free means air taxes and fees, fee to check baggage and often passengers will pay for the bus connections airport to city. And supposedly the airline can tack on fuel surcharges even to free seats.
So though there's no free ride it seems on RyanAir it almost is.
Just thought it was an interesting aspect as to why some of their seats are so cheap and they still turn a profit, one of the best in the market i guess.

flanneruk

Well they would say that, wouldn't they?

What they won't admit in public is how much profit they actually make on all these hokey fees. Or how much of the kickbacks they get from secondary airports are related to the volume of traffic they bring.

And, of course, what they won't admit either (though O'Leary's mounting hysteria rather gives the game away) is how vulnerable their planning assumptions are to a long-term heightening of security measures in Europe in general and the UK in particular.

Ryanair's been great at exploiting the low security needed on most European flights since Irishmen stopped trying to blow up aeroplanes. O'Leary seems to have forgotten the long years when the psychopaths his Taoiseach ran arms for forced airlines to fly to Belfast with no cabin baggage at all.

Now that it looks as if Europe's largest aviation market is getting real terrorist threats again, turning a flight round in 25 minutes may no longer be a commercial benefit, if it's taking customers an hour or so to get through security.

PalQ

Flanner - as usual intriguing intensely well spoken comments. But i thought the European Courts had ruled subsidies like Charleroi, Belgium was paying to these airlines were illegal - you think it's some gray area of kick backs?

PatrickLondon

Ryanair's own comment on the present situation suggests there might be an even larger price to pay for "free" tickets:

http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/notic...=060822-ASP-EN

BettyBoop

Just saw on CNN that Ryan Air is offering $0.02 tickets (you pay taxes so it will be more) but the fares are god for travel through Mar 24, 2007. You must purchase by Sep 11.

rex

Too funny, Patrick. I might have to just go to Europe, so that I can get on that flight!

Best wishes,

Rex